The overall flood situation has been improved across the country but rivers continued devouring lands and other establishments in several areas as erosion turned serious in Ganges basin.
Many people are losing their houses and croplands. Some people have started returning home as the floodwater receded. The flood-hit people are facing new misery as there is a crisis of food and pure drinking water in the affected areas.
Various water-borne diseases have been spreading in many areas due to flood. Besides, river erosion is intensifying as water reduced. Experts believe that there will be a minimum loss if the authorities concerned take immediate action to deal with the post-flood situation.
The State Minister for Disaster Management Enamur Rahman told Bangladesh Post, “The government's rehabilitation program will begin in flood-hit areas. Those whose houses have been damaged due to flood and river erosion will be repaired. Farmers will get seeds and fertilizers.”
Although the flood situation has improved due to declining water levels in the country's rivers, there has been widespread erosion in various areas. Particularly in Faridpur's Alfadanga, Gopalganj, Munshiganj, Rangpur's Mithapukur and Jhalokati's Kanthalia upazilas, roads, houses and other establishments were damaged badly due to river erosion.
Marooned people are suffering from skin diseases along with water-borne diseases including diarrhea. Most of the tubewells went under floodwater. People hardly can collect water from other sources. It has become a jeopardy for them to collect water and boil it for drinking. A crisis of pure drinking water has been created in the areas.
According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center, there were 18 districts affected by flood on August 4. The flood situation has been improved significantly in six of these districts.
Meanwhile, the water of Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers is receding remarkably. This may continue for the next 72 hours from Saturday afternoon. The water of the river Ganges remains stable. The water level in the Padma River is also declining, which may continue further. The water level of the main river in the upper Meghna Basin upstream in the north-east is declining, which may continue for the next two days from Saturday. The water of the rivers around the capital is stable.
Two phase of floods have damaged many crops in Faridpur and increased river erosion. 10 villages including Bajra, Char Azampur, Chardanga, Chapulia, Chardhanair, Shikipara, Chapulia, Charnarandia and Bashtala on the banks of Madhumati in Alfadanga are under threat of erosion.
Meanwhile, about 500 meters of the Gopalpur-Chardanga road has been destroyed. Meanwhile, 65 houses of Chapulia Guchhogram, Bajra Paschim Para Jame Mosque, about 30 houses of Char-Ajampur village and other structures were also damaged.
In the same time, erosion has started in Manikdaha, Urfi, Ichakhali and Dhalaitala of Gopalganj Sadar Upazila of Madhumati River and Madhumati Bilroot Channel.
AKM Rafiqul Islam, sub-divisional engineer of Water Development Board (WDB), said another phase of flood is feared in August, according to the flood-forecasting center.
The water level at Goalanda Point in Rajbari district, Bhagyakul Point in Munshiganj district and Sureshwar Point in Shariatpur district may gradually decrease in the next seven days. As a result, the flood situation in these districts is likely to improve in the next 7 days.
In Munshiganj, severe erosion has occurred in the villages along the Padma, Meghna and Dhaleshwari rivers. In the last few days, the erosion of Dhaleshwari river has also been seen in Sirajdikhan. The current floods have already inundated 261 villages in 38 unions of the district.